Dortmund rue missed chances in Benfica defeat

Aubameyang wasted a handful of chances in open play and, when his awful penalty was easily saved in the 58th minute, Tuchel responded by withdrawing his top scorer from the pitch nearly half an hour before the final whistle.

"It is an extremely complicated result, but I am very proud of how we played", he added. "We will now need efficiency in the return leg if we are to advance".

In the other Round-of-16 match on Tuesday, Paris Saint-Germain stunned Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg in France.

Benfica will be looking to reach the quarterfinals for the second straight season in the second leg on March 8 in Germany. The German squad should have scored in the 38th minute, when a miscommunication between Ederson and the Benfica defenders allowed Dortmunds Raphael Guerreiro to deliver a ideal ball to Aubameyang, alone in front of the goal, but his shot was just off the mark.

It was Benfica's only attempt on target the entire match. Mitroglou's initial effort was parried by goalkeeper Roman Burki but the striker was able to bundle home the loose ball.

Benfica boss Rui Vitoria agreed his side may have been outplayed, but had a more nuanced take on proceedings. 5 Nations Cup finals but went out at the group stage.

Mitroglou scrambled in the decisive goal for the Portuguese champions from Luisao's header in the second half.Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit a penalty straight at keeper Ederson after Ljubomir Fejsa handled.

"We can not do much more than carve out these golden chances", Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel said.